Always There
by ColorLover123
Summary: The Cahills have come together to become more unified. They just need to get past their old rivalries in order to do so. This won't be easy. (A rewrite of my old story, Cahill Bonding)
1. Chapter 1

Amy was vacuuming the family room rug for what was probably the fifth time that morning. She had been busy cleaning the mansion for the past few hours, starting directly after Fiske told her, Dan, and Nellie that the rest of the children from the Clue Hunt would be visiting for a couple of weeks, starting today. And considering she lived with Dan, she had plenty of preparing to do.

Said boy was currently in his room, "cleaning." Or rather, he was in his room throwing things into a corner while playing a game on his phone. And was he looking forward to this "family reunion"? Somewhat. He couldn't wait to see Hamilton and Jonah and Phoenix, but he was dreading the arrival of the Cobras, Ian and Natalie. The two siblings were invited by Fiske, coughthreatenedcough, and would be unfortunately be arriving with the rest of their relatives.

Most of the younger generation from the clue hunt would be coming, as in the Holt kids, the Starlings, Jonah and his cousin Phoenix and the Kabras. And they were all expected to arrive at noon, which was only an hour away.

What Dan couldn't comprehend was why they not only had to all stay in the same house, which would surely lead to some sort of disaster, but why they would be forced to also do "bonding" activities for an hour each day.

In the time it would take most people to clean their entire room twice, Dan had only just managed to finish throwing away all the soda cans that had littered the area by his computer. By the time he had started to gather the dirty laundry that was dispelled around the room, the doorbell was ringing downstairs.

Amy stopped her cleaning-she had finally moved on to dusting for the past half hour-to answer the door, hoping dearly that it was not the arrival of the Cahills. Sadly, when she opened the door, there stood her family: the Holts, the Starlings, the Wizards, and the Kabras, all of who were glaring at each other suspiciously while shifting uncomfortably.

"Hi, uh why don't you all come inside?" Amy stepped back, allowing everyone to pass. The awkward atmosphere only seemed to increase once Dan came down and found himself standing in front of the Kabra siblings. Himself and Natalie were soon having one of those stare down things cats have with their prey, while Ian found himself looking at Amy, who was stubbornly avoiding his gaze.

Sinead and Hamilton glared at each other from across the room, Sinead speaking to Jonah and Hamilton talking with Dan. It had been two years since the Clue Hunt and they were still fighting.

Madison and Reagan stood next to each other, whispering quietly. Every once in a while they would look over at someone and softly giggle, smirks adorning their faces. Close by were Ned and Ted Starling. One was holding a blueprint for the two to look at, though every minute or so they would look over at the Holt twins, their faces laced with confusion and some strange emotion that couldn't quite be placed.

Taking her role as host, (really, both Dan and Amy were the hosts, but everyone knew Dan wouldn't really do anything,) Amy walked to the front of the room where she could see everyone. They all looked at her with suspicion and slight undertones of anger. Amy cleared her throat and began to address her family.

"Hello everyone, thank you all for coming. Uh, Fiske has called everyone here because it's been a couple years since the Clue Hunt and he seems to think that the branches are still divided. So, since we are the next generation, we need to come together and learn to work with each other, regardless of branch," she said this with a pointed look at Sinead and Hamilton. "Starting tomorrow, every day from four to five, we will be doing bonding activities Filch has planned out for us. I have no idea what he has planned for each day, so please don't ask," Hamilton closed his mouth. "We luckily have plenty of extra rooms so the room assignments are as follows:" she pulled out a piece of paper from her back pocket. "Phoenix will stay with Jonah, Hamilton with Ian, and Ned with Ted are all on the second floor. You will all be just down the hall from Dan. And for the girls, Madison and Reagan and Natalie are together, and Sinead's with me. We're all on the third floor." There were some protests, the majority of which were coming from Natalie, but everyone soon accepted their room assignments. Slowly, everyone went to their rooms to unpack.

* * *

It didn't take long for everyone to unpack and soon all the Cahills were sitting in the living room, some drinking hot chocolate, others coffee, all invested in their own conversations. Surprisingly enough, Ned and Ted Starling both settled near the Holt twins, who were currently having a very animated discussion about when soccer tryouts were for the approaching school year. However, their discussion came to a halt once the two Ekaterinas sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Hello ladies!" one of the said brightly, sipping his hot chocolate. They wore nearly identical outfits- dark jeans, a sweater vest, and a white dress shirt- except this one was wearing a dark blue vest, while his brother was wearing a forest green shade.

"How are you today?" the one in green asked, identical smiles gracing both their features.

"Fine," Madison said curtly before turning back to her sister and resuming their conversation, both girls pretending the brothers weren't even there.

Said brothers shared a look, their smiles faltering slightly.

This was going to be difficult.

* * *

Amy sipped at her coffee. Almost as soon as she came down she had seated herself on the loveseat in the corner of the room and began a new book, blocking out the, thankfully, quiet chatter of her cousins. She hadn't gotten very far into said book when Ian came and sat beside her, his own book in hand.

"What are you reading?" he asked quietly, not looking up from his book.

"_A Little Princess_," she replied, also refusing to remove her eyes from the pages.

"How are you liking it?"

"It's fine." A long pause. "What are you reading?"

"_Hamlet_."

"I like that one."

"As do I."

They finished their drinks in silence.

* * *

Natalie sat on the plush sofa near the fireplace, flipping through a magazine. Sensing someone by her, she looked up into the bright eyes of Dan.

"Hey Natalie," he said, offering her a mug. "Want some hot chocolate?" She glanced between the mug and Dan, distrusting of anything the young prankster offers her, before finally accepting it.

"Thank you, Dan." Dan nodded before taking a seat beside her, drinking from his own mug and avoiding all eye contact.

"No problem."

* * *

**Well? Different, I know. I hope that people will give this story a chance, and accept my different writing style. I'll update as often as possible, but it still won't be terribly often. If there's anything specific you would like to see in this story, feel free to let me know! Also, this story will disregard everything after the tenth book.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The 39 Clues or any other brands or products mentioned in this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

You know what is one of the worst things to happen when you're in a group setting?

Awkward silences.

Luckily, this was never a problem when Cahills are involved.

"I am going to kill you!"

"You'll have to catch me first!"

"Hey! Don't touch that!"

"No running in the house!"

"Give that back!"

"Make me!"

Amy sat back and watched the chaos unfold in front of her.

Sinead was yelling at Hamilton for accidentally spilling soda on her book. He was obviously not listening and was more intent on trying to avoid being hit with said book. Natalie was yelling at the Holt twins, although it wasn't what about, but all three looked ready to murder each other. Dan was tormenting Ian by following him around and asking him as many questions as he could fit in before the older boy inevitably got mad and shot him with a dart gun. Most of these questions made Ian get a grimace on his face, although a few made him blush. Ned and Ted were in the far corner of the room, both completely oblivious to all that was going on around them. Jonah was talking with his cousin, ignoring everyone and trying to block Phoenix from seeing the chaos. It wasn't working.

All this over picking a movie. It wouldn't be long now before everyone tired themselves out and they could make a decision. While she waited, Amy set herself to work making popcorn. As it popped, Amy noticed that it was nearly four o'clock. Sighing, she mad her way into the living room where the rest of her family remained. It had not quieted in the least since she had left, if anything it had gotten louder.

Rather than waste her time and try to shout above the noise, Amy just grabbed the air horn Dan kept in the cabinet, she pressed it and waited while all of her cousins immediately stopped their yelling and covered their ears.

"Okay everyone!" she yelled into the silence, "It's almost four, so we had better see what Fiske has planned for us. We can watch a movie after." Meaning they would have to repeat this process.

With much grumbling, the Cahills sat around the room and watched Amy open a drawer and pull out a green daily-planner. They listened intently as she read aloud what they would be doing that day.

_Hello Children,_

_Today you will begin your bonding. As promised, I have planned an activity for you all. You will be required to participate in partner bonding exercises. You and your partner will complete a set number of tasks by the end of the hour. Whichever team completes the tasks first will be declared the winner. Your partners are as follows:_

_Hamilton/Ned_

_Jonah/Madison_

_Natalie/Reagan_

_Ian/Sinead_

_Amy/Ted_

_Dan/Phoenix_

_You be given a list of the tasks you must complete. It can be found in your phones. Good luck and enjoy yourselves. _

_-Fiske_

Everyone stood around the planner, switching between glaring at it or their partner. Eventually, Reagan pulled out her phone, searching for the afore mentioned list. Soon, everyone followed suit. With much grumbling, everyone joined their partner and set off to finish their first task.

* * *

Hamilton would not look at Ned. They walked along, as their first task was to find a specific book in the Cahill library. It would have been remarkably simple if it weren't for the fact that neither knew where the library was. This wouldn't be so awkward if they would talk. But they wouldn't. They couldn't even look a each other.

All Hamilton could think of was the explosion. The screams. The fear. He was the one who had caused the disabilities of two boys, only a year older than himself, and the scars of their sister. It was his fault. Sure, the two had had surgeries, and the scars had faded, but he knew that he would always be the one responsible.

All Ned could think of was the stunning awkwardness of their situation. Ted and he had forgiven Hamilton ages ago. Sinead hadn't yet, but was considering it. But Hamilton didn't know that. Besides, the two boys were almost completely healed, due to their surgeries. All was almost forgiven.

But Hamilton didn't know that.

So the wouldn't talk.

* * *

Jonah and Madison were a different story.

It had started moderately well. Normal chit-chat, nothing too interesting. But then it slowly grew silent. It wasn't hard to guess what each was thinking about. It hadn't been terribly long since the Clue Hunt. Since all the terrible things each had done.

Madison would look at Jonah, look away, and then stare straight ahead until she felt compelled to look at him again.

Jonah stared straight at the ground until he felt the need to send an apologetic glance at the younger girl, never catching her eye.

Neither spoke.

And so on, and so forth. It wasn't until they looked around them that they realized neither had any clue where they were, nor how to get back.

Madison looked at Jonah. Jonah looked back at Madison.

They reached a silent agreement to keep going.

Still, neither spoke.

* * *

In truth, the two girls didn't mind each other. Sure, Natalie could be rude, and Reagan certainly didn't strike the Lucian as one she could have a lengthy conversation with, but that didn't mean one disliked the other.

In fact, Natalie liked to wonder if things might have been different had they not first spoken at the funeral. In a time that was practically war between the houses. Natalie at times liked to wonder what things would have been like had she not been raised on the clues. She certainly would have more friends. Although, she'd also have less experience with a dart gun.

Reagan felt more compelled to wonder what would have happened if her family's reputation had not preceded her when she spoke to Cahills. She was sure they would have been far less rude, and hopefully more likely to be willing to start a conversation, to get to know her. Not her family.

Both spent their time wondering how things could have been different had they been born with a different name.

For some reason, both felt they still would have ended up here, facing their pasts in silence.

Both were too consumed in their thoughts to look where they were going.

* * *

Ian was amazed at how Sinead manage to never look at him and still manage to seem as if she's glaring straight at him. Really, it was a talent that very few possessed. It was, however, getting a little tiresome. All Ian wanted to do was to find their way to the rose garden so they could finish their first task.

But, considering it had been over a year since Ian had last entered the mansion, and Sinead was certainly not helping matters, he wasn't quite sure where to go. So it seemed best to simply follow the stiff Ekaterina.

He couldn't imagine what she could be mad at him for. He had assumed the majority of her anger over the Clue Hunt would be aimed at the Holt family. Apparently not.

However, she did not seem to know where she was going either. Every few steps, Sinead's eyes would look back and forth, searching the walls.

By now they were both sure that they had at some point taken a wrong turn, as neither remembered having ever seen this part of the mansion. Still, they continued to walk.

The silence was deafening. It got to the point where Ian could hardly stand it. So, he tried to initiate some sort of conversation.

"So, I've heard your brothers' surgeries went well."

Sinead's head whip around to glare at the Lucian.

Bad idea.

"Who the hell told you _that_? What business is it of yours, anyway? Why don't you go slither back to your cave and stop involving yourself with things that don't concern you?"

And with that, she lowered her fists to her side and stormed off.

Definitely a bad idea.

* * *

Fortunately, Amy and Ted got along relatively well. Amy and Sinead had become friends not long after the Clue Hunt, and so the triplets would visit quite often.

That being said, there was one topic the two couldn't seem to agree on.

"Sinead has full right to be mad, and you do too!"

"Ned and I are completely fine now! Forgive and forget!"

"Look, I really like Hamilton, and he is a good friend of mine, but your sister isn't wrong for holding a grudge."

"But there's no reason too, at least not anymore. Ned and I have fully forgiven the Holt family, why can't she?"

"Because they hurt someone close to her. Had it been Dan, I would be mad too."

"But it wasn't Dan."

"That's not the point!"

* * *

Strangely enough, the only pair that was doing as they were told was Dan and Phoenix.

"So if we just move this a bit to the right, we should be able to reach it."

"Are you sure we'll be able to move it?"

"Totally! No problem!"

Dan and Phoenix were on task number six, their last one, which was to reach a book from behind a bookcase. However, this particular bookcase just so happened to be incredibly heavy and had been pushed so there was next to no space between it and the wall. Meaning, they would have to move this incredibly heavy bookcase in order to complete the list.

Currently, the two boys were having difficulties. To be specific, it would take a Holt to move this. So, logically, they continued to simply push against it in the hopes that it will eventually move.

It did, however, it hardly moved an inch, leaving just a tiny gap for them to reach through. Since Phoenix had the more willowy frame of the two, he slid his hand in and drew out a tiny book. Well, binder would probably be a better word for it. On it were the words "Our Memories," and upon opening it, Dan discovered it was not the trashy romance model Dan had been expecting. No, it was instead a photo album, pages upon pages of photos. Didn't take long for the Madrigal to realize who they were of.

Most of the pictures seemed like they were from the Clue Hunt. There were the Holts riding camels in Cairo. The Kabras on the Eiffel Tower. But some were obviously before then.

There was a picture of Jonah signing his first record deal. The Starlings holding a first place trophy that read "Third Grade Science Fair." Dan surrounded by his collections. Amy in Grace's library. Hamilton after bringing his high school football team to State. Phoenix next to Jonah, when they were kids, far before the latter was famous. A very preschool aged Natalie playing dress up.

He had never seen them like that. So young. So unthreatening.

So...happy.

"Wow." Phoenix breathed, looking over Dan's shoulder. "I remember this photo," he said, pointing to one of him and Jonah opening Christmas presents together. "I was three. Cora started stressing the hunt a couple years later."

This was when Dan noticed another photo of him. Well, rather of him, Amy, and Grace. They were in the library, you could see the snow whirling about outside. Grace and Amy sat on twin armchairs, Dan sitting at Grace's feet. All three of them cradled mugs of hot chocolate. He remembered that day. It was the last photo the three of them took together before Grace was diagnosed with cancer. How it, or any of the other photos, ended up here, Dan didn't have a clue. But he was sure that he should show this to the others as soon as the hour was up.

Almost as if reading his mind, a moment later the clock chimed, announcing that time was up for the day. Less than a minute later, Dan received texts from both Hamilton and Jonah, stating that they and their teammates were lost. Dan led the way to rescue them, the album tucked under his arm.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 Clues or any other products or brands that may be mentioned in this fic. **

**Okay, wow. I'm _so _sorry for how long this took, along with the fact that it's not the best quality. But, my computer has gotten fixed and I've just gotten let out for summer vacation, so I should have a lot more time to write. Thank you all so much for reading this and dealing with my awful schedule. If you would like anything specific to appear i this story, feel free to tell me. If you have and questions or concerns, feel free to PM me. **

**Thank you all so much!**

**~Kate**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 Clues or any products or brands mentioned in this fic**

**Also, there will be a bit of swearing in this chapter, so if that makes you uncomfortable, please exit now.**

After a good half-hour spent collecting the lost Cahills, Dan and Phoenix pulled out the photo book. The group of teens gathered around them pointing out their favorite memories and poking fun of their friends.

Eventually, they reached the book's end and were left in a nostalgic silence. Slowly, everyone trickled out of the room, moving on to other activities.

Only Natalie hung back. After checking that she was indeed alone, she picked up the book and flipped through it until she found the photo she was looking for.

It was a photo of her when she was little, at one of Grace's parties. She couldn't have been more than six years old. But she wasn't alone. Standing next to her was a boy with green eyes, dirty blond hair, and a crooked grin. They had been coloring together, unable to keep the ink from getting all over themselves and their clothing. Minutes after this photo was taken, Isabel had grabbed Natalie by the arm and dragged her away, scolding her for ruining her dress.

The young Lucian stared at the photo before swiftly tucking it into bag and fleeing the scene.

Dan stayed in the doorway, watching her go.

* * *

Some way or another, Phoenix found himself playing a game of basketball with Madison Holt. He was also trying to learn some information about what happened during the Clue Hunt, and why everyone was so weird around each other.

He was failing.

For reasons he didn't understand, Jonah never went into much detail about the Hunt, and was quite skilled at evading his questions.

As it turns out, so was Madison.

"But why do you all act so weird around each other?"

"A lot happened."

"But what happened?"

"A lot of things."

"Like?"

"Like things that you don't need to know about." She scored. "That's three points for me."

"Why do you all avoid any question I ask?" She turned to him. She didn't look angry, but he feared for his life nonetheless.

"Look dude, a lot of shit went down during the clue hunt. A lot of things we all just want to forget happened. So just let it go. Okay?"

Phoenix just nodded.

* * *

Ian found himself in the gardens. To be more specific, in the Rose Garden that he couldn't find earlier this evening. However, he wasn't alone. Reagan Holt was there too. But, as soon as the two made eye contact, they silently agreed to stay on opposite sides of the garden, on either side of the fountain. Although he would later deny it, curiosity got the best of Ian and he eventually asked what she was doing out here.

"Oh, I'm just grocery shopping. What do you think?"

Cue irritated sigh.

"It was simply a question, no need to get so worked up."

They continued ignoring each other and it wasn't until later that the Lucian realized she had never answered his question.

* * *

Ned and Ted were in their temporary room. Ned was laying on his bed reading, while Ted was researching something on his laptop. Both were quite surprised when there was a knock on their door, and even more surprised when Hamilton Holt appeared. He looked awkward, fiddling with his belt, shuffling his feet and absolutely avoiding all eye contact.

He cleared his throat.

"Hey guys," awkward cough, "Amy and Nellie want to know what you want for dinner. They sent me to ask."

The brothers looked at each other. They both knew why he was acting so strangely, but that didn't make things any less uncomfortable. After a stiff silence, both brothers answered together.

"Pizza."

"Oh, right. Got it, thanks." He began to shuffle out of the room.

"Hamilton," Ted said, "you do know you're forgiven, right?" Hamilton stood there, shocked. Eventually, however, he got over his surprise, ducked his head, and all but ran out of the room.

The brothers sighed. They were right, this _was_ going to be hard.

* * *

Amy was convinced that all her family was trying to kill her. If it wasn't bad enough trying to cook with Nellie breathing down her neck, making sure she did not mess up any part of the recipe, Sinead also decided that the kitchen was the perfect place to work on her new science project. Not to mention Jonah, who was using the kitchen table as his own private office as he spoke on the phone with his dad. Everywhere she went she was either tripping on screws and tools or being told she needs to "quiet down, he couldn't hear." And when Hamilton came back to tell her what Ned and Ted wanted, he looked downright ill and hardly got the words out before mumbling something about going to train, leaving Amy to continue with the chaos.

But eventually, the pizza was done and Nellie was satisfied with how it turned out. After calling the Cahills back, getting Dan to stop screaming about how the Kabras eat pizza with a fork and knife, and cleaning all the dishes, Amy sat down to rest after what had been a very exhausting day.

* * *

**Okay, first let me just say I am so sorry. And I'll say it again, I'm really, really sorry. I don't know how I let this take so long to get up and I know it's really short. I don't really have a good excuse, other than the fact that school has been kicking my ass recently. I'll work on this story as much as I can, but I have no promises as to when the next chapter will be up. Thank you so much for reading and if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. -Kate**


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